Trump mask maker cashes in

Chinese workers wearing latex masks of Donald Trump (left) and Hilary Clinton interact at Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory in Pujiang county, Jinhua city, East China's Zhejiang province, May 18, 2016. [Photo/IC]

An enterprising rubber arts and crafts factory in Zhejiang province in eastern China said it earlier received more than 500,000 orders for face masks of Donald Trump, the newly elected president of the United States, far exceeding the order numbers for Hillary Clinton masks, and it is now making profits as a result.

Among many Chinese manufacturers that are cashing in on the frenzy of the US presidential election, the boss of Jinhua Party Latex Arts and Crafts Co Ltd even boldly projected that Trump would become the final winner, and he increased the production of Trump masks - planning to make a small fortune as the campaign heated up.

A large number of masks buyers come from big US distributors and traders - many of them being political parties, consortiums and fans groups. The Zhejiang factories made the goods based on the orders they received, according to information provided by e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.

"US voters needed some masks, badges and flags to support their idols on the streets and at other public places. The order data reflected the demand and the possible result of the election," said Lu Zhenwang, an internet expert and chief executive of Wanqing Consultancy in Shanghai.

"Meanwhile, many of Trump supporters come from the working class and are grassroots; they may have a higher motivation for wearing masks and holding flags. The lower demand of Clinton's masks might be because many of her supporters are from the elite groups, and they have less of a desire for the masks."

Starting from February, when Trump became the Republican presidential nominee, searches of the key word Trump and related goods including T-shirts, badges and flags on AliExpress, an online shopping site under Alibaba, far exceeded searches of Clinton.

Four years ago, Jinhua made an attempt to produce masks of the incumbent US president, and it rode the wave of a boom in sales.

This year, the company designed 10 masks of each candidate, with different facial expressions and fabrics.